Preserving Agricultural Biodiversity

“Thirty thousand vegetable varieties have become extinct in the last century, and one more is lost every six hours”, according to the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity.

The organization developed from the Slow Food Movement with the goal of preserving gastronomic resources. Partnered with the Region of Tuscany, the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity supports projects that identify and promote diversity of agricultural resources and those that preserve the heritage of traditional food products.

One of the projects sponsored by the foundation, The Ark of Taste, catalogues endangered plant crops, such as Canada's Montreal Melon or Red Fife wheat, as well as endangered livestock varieties and traditional agricultural products, like cheeses, breads, and preserved foods. Another project, The Presidia, promotes the producers of the products both through direct assistance and by working to establish markets for the goods.

Link: Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 11:05 AM on July 7, 2004

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